Active switching in metamaterials using polarization control of light

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates active control of localized surface plasmons in metamaterials through incident light polarization, enabling switching between transparent and absorptive states for potential applications in plasmonic devices.

Contribution

It introduces a polarization-controlled method to selectively excite plasmon modes, enabling on-demand switching in metamaterials.

Findings

Asymmetric mode excited by s-polarized light induces transparency.

Symmetric mode excited by p-polarized light results in absorption.

Potential for active plasmonic switching applications.

Abstract

We demonstrate on-demand control of localized surface plasmons in metamaterials by means of incident light polarization. An asymmetric mode, selectively excited by s-polarized light, interfere destructively with a bright element, thereby allowing the incident light to propagate at a fairly low loss, corresponding to electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in an atomic system. In contrast, a symmetric mode, excited by p-polarized light, directly couples with the incident light, which is analogous to the switch-off of EIT. The light polarization-dependent excitation of asymmetric and symmetric plasmon modes holds potential for active switching applications of plasmon hybridization.